Faith posted: " I'm back with the second instalment of my Life Of A Law Student series. If you haven't read my first post then in short, since I'm in my last year of university I thought of writing about some of my experiences in Law School. This is my way of passing do"
I'm back with the second instalment of my Life Of A Law Student series. If you haven't read my first post then in short, since I'm in my last year of university I thought of writing about some of my experiences in Law School. This is my way of passing down some tips and knowledge that will hopefully make your life a bit easier if you're a law student.
So, without further ado, this is how I take my notes.
I have two separate methods of writing my notes and which method I use depends on whether my class is online or in-person.
I'll go through both of my methods, but I do want to mention that I ultimately prefer writing my notes online rather than handwriting everything. The main reason is that my law professors go through a lot of content very quickly, so it's much easier typing all my notes rather than rushing and handwriting everything.
Starting with how I take my notes online, my secret is that I basically just organise and colour-code everything.
Note: I prefer using Google Docs, but really you can use anything program like Pages or Word, that suits you:
Article and case notes
Lecture notes adapted into exam notes
Essentially, I have my case and article notes at the top of each lecture. We're usually required to read certain cases and articles before we attend our lectures so I always have these notes in the first section of my notes.
The reason why I do this is that at some point there will be references made in my lectures that link back to the case or article that we were required to read. Having these notes on the same document just makes it easier to find rather than looking through a hundred different documents. So, my homework/required reading notes are all at the top of my lecture notes.
In the second section (on the same document), I have my actual lecture notes. My tip for lecture notes is to use headings! Do not just info dump a huge chunk of text into your notes! Use headings, bold text, underline text! When you're looking for specific information, you do not want to be scrolling through pages and pages of text. Having headings will save you so much time.
So, breaking your notes up into smaller sections with headings makes your notes look more organised, easier to read and it will be easier to look for certain bits of information.
And honestly, these are your notes! You do NOT have to use academic language if it complicates things for you. The whole purpose of notes is so you have something about a topic written down in a manner you understand! If academic language confuses you or just stresses you out then write your notes more casually. Use swear words in your notes, be sarcastic or funny, use anecdotes, metaphors, whatever helps you understand the topic. Of course, when you write your exams and assignments use academic language, but your notes can be a bit more informal, so allow yourself to be more casual in your note-taking - no one but you is going to read them and so your notes should be written in a way that you understand.
In terms of colour-coding everything, this is how I prefer coding my notes:
Green text is for case and article names. I specifically colourise cases and article names because they are generally important - we refer back to them often in class as well as analyse what we read and talk about it in class too.
Orange is for important general information. My study tip is to write one small paragraph about each concept or topic where you summarise everything you discussed in class. This is a good way to review and study your notes after class AND this paragraph can be included in your final exam notes. These small paragraphs are highlighted so when I need a quick summary about something I can easily find it and if I need more detail I can always read the rest of my notes)
Blue is for definitions. This includes word definitions and legal concepts. I usually try to summarise legal concepts into one sentence.
This is it really. It's nothing revolutionary, just motivation, hard work along with good organisation and colour-coding has helped me survive Law School.
Now the way I handwrite my notes is actually very similar to the way I write my notes online.
My colour-coding system is essentially the same. I have a pencil case filled with highlighters and going through my notes and highlighting things is fun! Of course, it is difficult to try and not highlight everything you read (because it does feel like everything is important at times) but I highly suggest writing short summaries of what you learn in class - this is a great way to stay focused on what the main point of your lectures was and what the important information is. This, as a result, should help you figure out what you should be highlighting.
The main difference is my organisation. My case and article notes are written in the back of my notebooks while my lecture notes are written, in order, in the front of my notebook. Everything is labelled so I know which cases/articles correspond with which lectures.
It actually has been a couple of years since I've written my notes by hand. As I said, law lectures are fast-paced and it's much more convenient typing my notes rather than handwriting them.
And these are my tips for taking notes in class! My main message is that everyone has different note-taking methods, however, ultimately being organised with your notes will make the biggest difference, so as long as you're organised in some way, your notes will end up being extremely useful.
I hope these tips work for you if you try them, thank you for reading and of course, I hope you all have a lovely day.
Paul posted: ""Plans should be ephemeral, so be prepared to move away from them." ~ Anthony Bourdain. Nine o'clock on a weekday morning is never a good time to get on the road in a major metropolitan area. But, instead of following my instincts and getting out of to"
"Plans should be ephemeral, so be prepared to move away from them." ~ Anthony Bourdain.
Nine o'clock on a weekday morning is never a good time to get on the road in a major metropolitan area. But, instead of following my instincts and getting out of town early I decided to thumb my nose at the traffic gods, and luxuriate in the plastic, faux opulence of the motel breakfast room, indulging in free yogurt and cello wrapped muffins. Through a layer of spilled yellow crumbs and an occasional blueberry I loitered over my complimentary copy of USA Today and swilled tepid, dishwater coffee.
To those who might call me ungrateful in my sarcasm over breakfast freebies, let's not fool ourselves. The yogurt and muffin are not free, they're built into the price of the room, as are the sundries you find in your room. That's why my wife has managed to assemble the fine basketful of mini-bottles of shampoo, conditioner and skin creams and little patties of soap that adorns our bathroom counter at home.
I'd resigned myself to a long sojourn in highway purgatory and when I merged onto gridlocked Interstate 35 out of Minneapolis I was not disappointed
Google Girl warned me of traffic congestion. "No shit," I countered. "Can't slip anything past you, huh?"
Google Girl couldn't come up with a response. She's like that.
My stay in traffic perdition turned out to be surprisingly short. In a mere thirty minutes the freeway was again free and I was back in farm country.
fashionandstylepolice posted: "I love Ted Baker products a lot! Their bags and footwear always catch my eye, and I have quite a few of them. The brand's accessories are always so colourful and pretty, great for the spring and summer months. Nowadays I find myself loving Ted Bakers frag"
I love Ted Baker products a lot! Their bags and footwear always catch my eye, and I have quite a few of them. The brand's accessories are always so colourful and pretty, great for the spring and summer months. Nowadays I find myself loving Ted Bakers fragrances. I find the scents heavenly and affordable, which […]
Hilltown Families posted: " Are you looking for things to do in western Massachusetts? Seeking place-based learning ideas? Are you a self-directed, life-long, and/or experiential learner? Are you curious or wanting to support the interests of your family? Our weekly Suggested Ev"
Life & Soul Magazine posted: " A new timber building, featuring the second tallest wooden tower in the world, which opened recently in the Swedish city of Skelleftea could capture nine million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide throughout its lifetime of "at least 100 years". Swedish ar"
A new timber building, featuring the second tallest wooden tower in the world, which opened recently in the Swedish city of Skelleftea could capture nine million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide throughout its lifetime of "at least 100 years".
Swedish architecture studio White Arkitekter designed the 20-storey, 75-metre-high Sara Kulturhus Centre from over 12,000 cubic metres of wood - harvested from forests just 60km from the town.
Built from a combination of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued laminated timber (glulam), the Sara Kulturhus Centre includes a theatre, gallery, library, museum and a hotel.
A geothermal heat pump and 1,200 square metres of solar panels on the building's roofs will provide the majority of the power to the building, while the remainder will be supplied from renewable sources.
White Arkitekter hopes that the building showcases how the carbon impact of buildings can be reduced or negated. The Sara Kulturhus Centre design is also part of the design studio's pledge that by 2030, every building it designs be carbon neutral.
The cultural centre which opened last year in Skelleftea, just south of the Arctic circle in northern Sweden, is one of a number of wooden constructions in the area. Other wooden builds include a timber bridge stretching across the local river, and a three-storey parking garage in the city centre.
Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine's Chief. She writes about lifestyle including sustainable and green living
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